Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit, Great Lakes Northern Forests CESU | G17AS00109

Opportunity Information: Apply for G17AS00109

The Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU) Great Lakes Northern Forests funding opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number G17AS00109) is a discretionary research grant offered by the U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), specifically through the USGS Great Lakes Center. The award is issued as a cooperative agreement, which typically means the USGS expects to be substantially involved during the project rather than simply providing funds and receiving a final report. The opportunity falls under the Science and Technology and other Research and Development activity category and is associated with CFDA number 15.808.

The purpose of the project is to support research focused on the Eastern Massasauga Rattlesnake (EMR) in Michigan, a species listed as federally threatened. The core scientific goal is to understand and improve "connectivity" among EMR populations, which in conservation terms generally means how well individuals (and therefore genes) can move between habitat patches across a landscape. This matters because isolated populations can lose genetic diversity and become more vulnerable to local extinction, while connected populations are often more resilient over time. In practical management terms, connectivity research can help land and wildlife managers decide where protection, restoration, or corridor planning would have the greatest benefit.

The work described in the announcement emphasizes combining two complementary approaches to connectivity. First, the project will describe how EMR genes move across landscapes, using genetic patterns as an indicator of movement and exchange among populations over time. Genetic connectivity can reveal whether groups that look geographically close are actually exchanging individuals, or whether they are effectively cut off by barriers like roads, development, intensive agriculture, or unsuitable habitat. Second, the project will compare that gene-based indicator with analyses of habitat connectivity, which generally involves assessing how habitat is distributed and how the landscape might facilitate or impede movement based on land cover, patch arrangement, and potential barriers. By directly comparing genetic movement with habitat-based connectivity models, the project aims to clarify what "landscape connectivity" truly looks like for this species and which landscape features best predict real, functional movement.

Only one award was anticipated under this opportunity, with an award ceiling of $18,977. Eligibility was limited to CESU partners (the listing notes "Others" with additional eligibility clarification in the full announcement), meaning the competition was aimed at institutions already participating in the CESU network rather than the general public. The opportunity was created on July 5, 2017, with an original closing date of July 21, 2017, indicating a short application window and suggesting it may have been targeted to address a specific, near-term research need.

Overall, this grant opportunity supports applied conservation research designed to produce actionable guidance for managing and conserving Michigan EMR populations. The expected outcome is a clearer, evidence-based understanding of how snakes and their genes are actually moving across the landscape and how that movement aligns with, or differs from, habitat connectivity predictions. That kind of combined genetic and landscape analysis is often used to prioritize conservation actions such as protecting key habitat linkages, mitigating barriers, identifying restoration sites that reconnect populations, and improving long-term recovery planning for threatened species.

• The Department of the Interior, Geological Survey in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit, Great Lakes Northern Forests CESU" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.808.
• This funding opportunity was created on Jul 05, 2017.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jul 21, 2017. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $18,977.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

Apply for G17AS00109

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